


It’s quite a list

by Fletcher



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Multi, Pining, Romantic Comedy, lots of pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-24
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-27 11:07:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fletcher/pseuds/Fletcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has a list of reasons why it’s a bad idea to have a crush on Arthur Pendragon. It’s a long list with very valid reasons.</p>
<p>Sadly, his heart doesn’t listen to reason.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s quite a list

“Merlin, what are you doing here?”

“I’m just grabbing a coffee. What are you doing here, Arthur? I didn’t even know you were back in Camelot.”

“Oh, I just got back. My dad had some trouble with his management," Arthur explained, "the things people are capable of to get a promotion. I shouldn’t be telling you this, you’re still so innocent.”

Merlin looked insulted. “I’m 21, I don’t exactly believe in Santa anymore.”

“Wow, 21 already,” Arthur said, sounding impressed, “that officially makes you as wise and bitter as the rest of us. Sit down, I’ll buy you another cup.”

“I really can’t, I’ve got class,” Merlin said. “Besides, Morgana is going to lynch you when she finds out you’re here, I don’t need to be here for that.”

“Seriously, your sister can hold a grudge for forever.”

“You did break the hearts of her two best friends,” Merlin helpfully pointed out.

“Not intentionally,” Arthur protested. “You can’t force passion, Merlin, you’ll find that out soon enough. Besides, I’ve matured. I turned thirty this year, it changes you, it really does. Morgana is even older than me so she should be a bastion of maturity.”

“She’s only one year older than you.”

“Yes, and apparently she learnt nothing in that entire year. Sit down, Merlin,” he instructed.

Merlin reluctantly did sit down, but only because he was curious. At least that was what he tried to tell himself. “Seriously, what are you doing here? If Morgana sees you, she will try to cut your balls off.”

“However much it pleases me how protective you are of my balls, it really is necessary that I’m here. I’m sure Morgana will come to her senses.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Merlin warned him. “You know how much she cares about Gwen and Lance.”

“I care about them too, that’s why I brought them together.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you set them up on a blind date, they bonded over the fact that you dumped them.”

“Exactly,” Arthur said enthusiastically. “They finally found each other because of me. Honestly, I deserved a shout out at their wedding, not to be banished from town. But enough about me, what about Merlin Emrys, what’s going on with you?”

Merlin shrugged. “Nothing special if that’s what you’re wondering. Honestly, I’m quite boring, still a student.”

Arthur cut him off. “Are you still hanging out with that Will creature?”

“He’s my best friend, why wouldn’t I be hanging out with him?”

Arthur looked concerned. “Oh, Merlin, you could do so much better.”

“We’re just friends, it’s not like we’re going out. Some people are capable of platonic relationships, you know.”

“It’s not like I don’t know that. Trust me, my relationship with Morgana has always been strictly platonic.”

“Eww, you’re such a dick, Arthur.”

“You really are related to Morgana,” Arthur grinned. “I like it, you’re showing some serious spunk. But seriously, would you please talk to your sister to plead my case, I would like to spend the next few months in relative peace.”

“Months?” Merlin repeated. “Are you planning on staying that long?”

“Yes, I am actually. My dad feels like it would be good for the company if I organized the headquarters a bit.”

“Organizing, doesn’t that usually mean people are getting fired?”

“No need to worry about your boyfriend, it’s not that kind of clean-up.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Merlin protested again. The idea of going out with Will was honestly revolting. “I don’t even want a boyfriend, I prefer to be single.”

Arthur laughed. “Aren’t you a bit too young to be this bitter, unless your sister is projecting on you? Or wait a minute, is there another young man out there whose balls deserve to be cut off? Do I need to defend your honour?”

“Alright, I did break up with a guy,” Merlin admitted. “But it wasn’t that big of a deal, I just prefer to be alone.”

Arthur looked uncharacteristically serious. “You’re keeping secrets, but no worries, you’ll tell me soon enough.”

Merlin nodded to shut him up but thought to himself that he would never in a million years tell him that the reason he was determined to remain single was because he had an enormous crush on Arthur Pendragon.

Yes, he wasn’t going to tell that to anyone.

*

Camelot wasn’t a very big town so it didn’t take long before everyone found out that Arthur Pendragon had returned. Merlin hoped that no one had told Morgana yet since he was a bit scared of her reaction, especially when she found that out that this wasn’t a quick visit.

Merlin wasn’t very pleased about that fact either, it was hard enough having an extremely inappropriate crush. Trying to deal with it when the object of his affection kept chatting to him, that was just unbearable. And that was the thing about Arthur, he might not be the most dependable person but he was really nice. He was always up for a chat, he could sit down with a complete stranger and talk for hours.

Merlin wanted to bang his head against the wall. Why did he need to come back, at this rate Merlin would never get over his stupid crush.

Right, he had to at least try to get over Arthur Pendragon. He needed a boyfriend, but where on earth was he going to find one? While Merlin was busy recounting all the available boys who went to his school, Will approached him. He seemed very excited, he clearly knew all about Arthur.

“Merlin, he’s back and this time we’re in for months of drama. This is the best news ever! Why don’t you look more excited or have you forgotten that your sister chased him with a frying pan last time?”

“I try to forget that,” Merlin informed him. “And it might be entertaining for you but I actually have to live with Morgana and trust me, she’s not very pleasant when Arthur’s here. I keep thinking she’s planning his murder.”

“It’s not like he’s staying forever, she’ll get over it. Do you want me to occupy her?”

Merlin slapped Will’s arm, quite harshly.

“What was that for?” Will asked, petting his arm.

“You can’t make these insinuations about my sister, I won’t stand for it.”

“Whatever, I know she likes me deep down. Just like her little brother does.” He affectionately rubbed Merlin’s hair. “You know, I actually feel a bit sorry for Arthur, even if he does hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Will, he just thinks you’re a bit odd and it’s not like you can deny that you’re not. He thinks I need a proper best friend who can guide me through life.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Seriously, why does he care so much about you?”

Merlin’s heart started beating noticeably faster. “He doesn’t care about me,” he quickly denied.

“Of course he does, it’s Arthur. He’d care about a street cat. But I think that he thinks that you’re the only person who can convince Morgana to stop hating him.”

Merlin tried to hide his disappointment, but Will was right of course. “He’s an idiot if he thinks I am capable of changing Morgana’s mind. No one can.”

“Your odds are slightly bigger, she dotes on you. She’s always been nicer to her own family, except for Arthur then.”

*

Merlin went back to his house and discovered Morgana wasn’t there so she was probably at Gwen and Lance’s place. This was not good news but it did give Merlin the opportunity to look at his list again. The list titled: ‘Why Arthur Pendragon is so wrong for you.’

Merlin was ashamed to admit that it was quite a long list. His heart was truly being very unreasonable about this.

Merlin checked the items on the list he shamefully started making when he was sixteen. That was when his misery started.

The first item on the list was the age difference. That was still a factor but it wasn’t as bad as it was before. Alright, so Arthur was still nine years older than him but a 30-year-old dating a 21-year-old wasn’t exactly unheard of. A 16-year-old dating a 25-year-old was just weird and it sounded like someone needed to go to jail.

Number 2: Gwen and Lance. Merlin loved Gwen and Lance, he really did. But he felt like Arthur was right about this, they had been married for years and they were deliriously happy together. Probably happier than they would have been with Arthur. He didn’t really consider this an important argument anymore.

Number 3: Morgana hated him. This was one item that would never get scratched from the list. Merlin really loved his sister, she was the one who practically raised him after all and he couldn’t bare it if she started hating him as well.

Number 4: Uther Pendragon was probably also Morgana’s father which would make this a very incesty relationship. Of course, Merlin and Morgana weren’t related by blood but that didn’t mean they weren’t family. And it might not even be true, Morgana wasn’t interested in hearing the truth since she insisted that Merlin and Gaius were the only family she needed. Still, it was a bit weird.

Number 5: Arthur Pendragon was never going to be interested in dating the completely bland Merlin Emrys. Arthur was unbelievably handsome, adventurous, smart. Merlin was reasonably attractive, quite boring and not particularly smart. He wasn’t good at flirting either so how was he ever going to make a move?

Conclusion: he was never going to make a move, that would be best for everyone. Merlin needed to find an appropriate boyfriend at Camelot University, there had to be one boy who could be interested in him. Oh God, who was he kidding, the odds were definitely not in his favour.

Merlin heard someone shut the front door with a lot force. He quickly got out of his bed and put the list back in its hiding place. Morgana was home.

He went down the stairs and found his sister in the living room, grabbing a bottle of wine.

She didn’t even turn around and said, “He’s back, can you believe it? That little shit, I attacked him with a frying pain and he still comes back. And he’s supposed to be brilliant,” she scoffed.

She took a gulp from the bottle and then said to Merlin, “I don’t want you talking to him, alright? He is not a friend of this family, no matter what he thinks and I’ll say the same thing to Gaius.”

“Don’t you think I’m old enough to decide who I talk to?” Merlin argued bravely.

Morgana’s eyes turned even darker, she always made an excellent evil witch at Halloween. “I’m your sister, Merlin, I am doing my best to protect you from scum like him. It’s not like I ever forbid you anything, you can socialize with your whole school for all I care.”

Merlin knew it was unreasonable to fight with Morgana about this but he just couldn’t let that slide. “I’m not a kid anymore and I think I’m going over to Will’s. You’re a mean drunk.”

“Merlin!” she shouted. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You know how pissed off I get when Arthur’s in town. And I realize that you’re not a kid anymore but I just want what’s best for you.”

“I know that,” Merlin said. “Just try not to raid the entire liquor cabinet, I’m going to need some alcohol for that party I’m throwing for the entire university.”

She laughed, “I wasn’t joking about that, it would be nice to have some cute boys over, it makes me feel younger.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t think that would be appropriate at your age,” Merlin quipped.

“Alright, get out already. Gwaine is coming over.”

Merlin did leave the house immediately when he heard that, Morgana and Gwaine were never particularly quiet.

*

In the end, he didn’t go to Will’s apartment since he knew Freya would be there. Will had already told him in excruciating detail what he had planned for the night. Merlin really didn’t need to be a part of that.

So he went over to Elena’s house, she was the best friend everyone approved of. Everyone loved Elena, the problem was that Elena had trouble noticing that one person in particular seemed to love her very much. She could be as oblivious as Arthur on that front.

Merlin knocked on the door since Elena refused to fix her door bell. She looked suspiciously pleased to see him.

“Merlin, come in! I’ve got some great news, I found a whole hole in the university’s rules which means we can finally start our club!”

Oh, this was dangerous. He walked inside and said, “Elena, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to start your own magazine, I mean we already have a paper.”

“I know, but my magazine would have such a different approach, I want to focus on the good news, not the same complaints about professors and the food. Plus gossip of course, I could easily fill a magazine with Professor Monmouth’s love life alone. I just don’t understand why Mordred doesn’t want to help me.”

“Well, he is in charge of the paper so I imagine he wouldn’t be very excited about having competition.”

“Oh, Merlin, you are always so clever about these things,” Elena said. “I hadn’t even thought about that. I’ll talk to him tomorrow and assure him that it’s not my intention to claim his territory.”

“We can talk about it later but first I wanted to ask if I could stay here tonight?”

“Say no more, Will texted me that Arthur is back. I’m so happy, it’s always so exciting when Arthur’s in town, this is when a magazine would come in handy. I’m looking forward to the next instalment in the Arthur-Morgana war.”

“I’m not,” Merlin commented. “I actually have to live with Morgana, remember?”

“I always forget how close you are to all the major players, you’re even friends with Arthur!” Elena said, she nearly bounced with happiness. “I used to have such a crush on him when I was a kid, do you remember that?”

Vividly.

“He was just so dreamy, he’s still hot but there was something special about him when we were teenagers, don’t you agree?”

“I guess so, but I never really fancied him or something,” he added.

“Well of course you didn’t,” she said jokingly, “you are Morgana’s brother after all. That would be very stupid, but then again you can’t control your hormones. Although, I’m glad we have matured a lot since then, I’m not really interested in a relationship right now.”

“Actually, I was thinking that maybe I should find myself a boyfriend,” Merlin blurted out. “It would be nice, I guess.”

Elena’s face brightened even more. “That’s a brilliant idea, I’ll help you!”

“Didn’t you just say that we’re too mature to be in a relationship?”

“I can only speak for myself, Merlin, I can’t order you how to feel and if you think you’re ready to find yourself a boyfriend, I will do anything to help you achieve that goal. I think I may even know someone who would be perfect for you: Mordred.”

“Do you want me to start dating him so he’ll give you less grief about your magazine?”

She ignored his deductions. “I just know he likes you, he mentioned your name like ten times the last time we talked. Believe me, I can sense these things.”

She really couldn’t but at least Mordred looked nothing like Arthur.

“By the way, are you coming to the pub tomorrow?” Elena asked him. “It’s supposed to be karaoke night, isn’t that fun?”

“I’ll come but can we watch a nice movie tonight, I could use some escapism.”

“Totally,” Elena said and clapped her hands.

*

Merlin went straight to class the next morning, in order to avoid another awkward confrontation with Gwaine in the bathroom. Unfortunately, it seemed luck was not on his side since he ran into him in the supermarket.

“Hello, Merlin, I didn’t see you this morning,” Gwaine said.

“Oh, I stayed at Elena’s last night, I’ve learned it’s best to avoid Morgana when she just found out Arthur’s in town.”

“You’re a smart kid,” Gwaine complimented him. “You’re coming to the pub tonight, right? I could use some people who can carry a tune, it’s not looking very good at the moment.”

“Oh yeah, I’m coming with Elena and Will.”

“I do have to warn you that we might be in for a Morgana-Arthur confrontation,” Gwaine said seriously. “Arthur seemed pretty enthusiastic when he found about the whole karaoke thing. You know how much he loves being on stage, it’s a miracle he didn’t audition for X Factor.”

“I think Arthur would rather _be_ Simon Cowell,” he joked. Then he added more seriously, “Gwaine, do you think Morgana will ever stop hating him? They were best friends for such a long time, she has to forgive him sometime.”

Gwaine looked like a parent who didn’t want to disappoint his kid. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t think it’s going to happen. At first everyone thought that they would be alright again eventually, but it’s been years now. The whole Uther thing doesn’t help either, not that we acknowledge this of course.”

“Maybe we should.”

“Don’t say that to Morgana or she’ll bite your head off,” Gwaine advised him. “I have to go now, I’ll see you tonight, Merlin.” He winked. “Don’t forget to wear gloves, there might be a boxing match.”

Merlin waved him off and started thinking about Arthur again. Of course he thought a lot about Arthur but his thoughts were purely PG-rated at the moment. He really did want Arthur and Morgana to be friends again, he just had no idea how to achieve that goal. He could start negotiations with Lance and Gwen, they stopped hating him a long time ago, however he didn’t think they were capable of  persuading Morgana.

Maybe he should pay Arthur a visit, if he could convince him to grovel then maybe this could finally all be over. Plus, Vivian would probably give him some of those brilliant biscuits again. With that in mind, he starting walking towards the Pendragon mansion.

It was quite an impressive mansion, without a doubt the largest house in town. The fact that a rich man as Uther Pendragon still lived in a relative small town like this, was gobsmacking to almost everyone. But there was something about Camelot that Uther couldn’t part with. Arthur didn’t seem to suffer from the same attachment, he moved to New York years ago, except for the occasional visit to his parents.

Merlin hoped he would be home, he could still be at work. But he was lucky, it was Arthur who opened the door. “Merlin, this is a surprise, come in. I will have to disappoint you but Vivian isn’t here. But I’ll ask the maid to make us a nice cup of tea.”

“Oh, you don’t need to bother, I just wanted to ask you something about Morgana.”

“If you’re here to discuss Morgana, we’ll definitely need tea. Sit down.”

Merlin took a seat and said, “Alright, I know this is quite a delicate situation but I was just wondering if you’re still prepared to fix this.”

“I’ve always been prepared to fix it,” Arthur said impatiently. “She’s the one with the issues.”

“But have you ever apologized?”

Arthur chuckled. “Why on earth would I apologize? I’ve never done anything to her. Listen, Merlin, I’m not going to lie about the fact that I treated Gwen and Lance pretty horribly. I wasn’t exactly a gentleman, but I’ve always been a good friend to Morgana so I don’t think I deserve this treatment.”

“Arthur, you were seeing Gwen and Lance at the same time, for six months. They were both madly in love with you and you just strung them along, you do understand why this would upset Morgana?”

“Of course I do,” Arthur said coldly. “But I didn’t cheat on her, did I? Listen, I hurt Gwen and Lance and I apologized profusely to them but I don’t owe you or Morgana an explanation. Now, let’s talk about more pleasant things, have you found yourself a boyfriend yet?”

Merlin sighed. “We talked about this yesterday, no one moves that quick.”

“I do,” Arthur said confidently. “But I heard some gossip about you and some boy called Cedric. Was he the one who broke your heart, should I crush his face?”

“No one broke my heart,” Merlin replied dismissively. “We went out for a few months but it wasn’t working, I wasn’t really into him.”

Arthur continued his interrogation. “Who are you into? You must have a type, right?”

Yes, his type could be described as Arthur Pendragon but he could hardly tell him that. “Just someone nice and intelligent.”

“I think you forget to add ‘unreasonably hot’ to that description.”

“I’m not that shallow,” Merlin protested.

“You should be,” Arthur said, he glanced at Merlin and Merlin could swear he looked quite appreciatively. “You need to set your standards high, you deserve the best,” he assured him.

“Elena wants to set me up with Mordred,” he blurted out. “He runs the school paper so he’s pretty smart.”

“Yes, but is he pretty as well?” Arthur pressed.

“I think so, yes he is.”

“He’s not good enough for you,” Arthur concluded hastily. “When you’re really interested in someone, you should have stars in your eyes, otherwise it’s never going to work. But don’t worry, you’re young, you’ll find someone.”

The only way that was ever going to happen  was if Arthur left town again. How else was he ever going to get over this ridiculous crush?

*

Clearly, Arthur wasn’t going to be much help and Morgana wasn’t one to change her mind either so it would probably be best for Merlin to just give up. He was never going to be able to reconcile them no matter how much he tried. The only thing he could possibly do, was try to control the damage. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand why the town thought it was entertaining when Arthur and Morgana had one of their meltdowns, but he wasn’t lying when he said Morgana was insufferable afterwards.

When he was still a kid, he loved the fact that she stood up so fiercely for the people she loved. Especially when he was being teased mercilessly for having big ears, still his most hated feature. But thanks to Morgana, the kids at school left him alone when they knew who they were going up against. Plus, it didn’t take long for him to find Will and Elena, so all in all he had a very pleasant childhood.

Merlin wasn’t paying attention when he walked into the house so he didn’t notice Gaius waving at him.

“Merlin,” he shouted, when he failed to get his attention. “Come here, boy!”

Merlin went over to him, Gaius was busy working in the garden as usual, he was obsessed with his herbs and regularly went out of town to get his hands on new ones.

“I didn’t even know you got back yet,” Merlin said, “I’m guessing you’ve already heard the news.”

“What news? Oh, the fact that the young Pendragon is back in town, that’s hardly news is it, this is his home after all. I just wanted to ask you if you took care of my garden in my absence.”

“I did the best I could, Gaius,” Merlin said, trying to sound reassuring. “I followed all your instructions. So you really don’t think Arthur’s presence is a problem?”

“Listen, your sister is very stubborn, I found that out when she was a baby.” He shivered slightly. “Never got a wink of sleep with that girl. On the other hand, you were a bit too quiet, I had to check your breathing constantly. Never mind, my point is that sometimes friendships really do end, Merlin, no matter how sad you might find it. So I advise you to give up on Arthur and Morgana.”

“I’m not even doing anything,” Merlin defended himself. “I know it’s hopeless. I just want to limit the amount of drama in this house.”

“Rest is very important for my garden so I understand exactly how you feel, Merlin. And I’ll have a nice chat with Morgana on how to treat people with the necessary politeness but I can’t give you any guarantees.”

“Thanks, Gaius,” Merlin said brightly. “I appreciate it. Maybe you could to talk to Gwaine as well?”

“I don’t interfere in matters of the heart,” Gaius said wisely.

“That’s very good advice,” Merlin concurred. “I’m sure Morgana and Gwaine will find out soon enough that they’re in a relationship. It can’t be that hard to realize.”

“Well, some people need more time than others to understand their own feelings.”

Merlin was starting to have a sneaky suspicion that they were no longer discussing Morgana and decided to head inside. “I’ll see you later, Gaius, have fun with the garden.”

Once he safely made his way inside, he decided it was time to start focusing on his work again. He could worry about Morgana and Arthur tonight when he probably would have to separate them.

*

Elena called him at eight to make sure he hadn’t forgotten to meet up with her and Will at the pub. Merlin had a tendency to forget about his appointments when he was working.  He put on his favourite scarf and prepared to leave. Surprisingly, Morgana was still in the kitchen.

“What are you still doing here?” Merlin asked. “Shouldn’t you be at your boyfriend’s pub?”

“First of all, Gwaine is not my boyfriend,” she clarified slowly. “And I’m not planning on going to the pub.”

Merlin was slightly taken aback. “You’re not? But it’s tradition and I thought you would be thrilled to have another opportunity to yell at Arthur.”

“I don’t know, I gave the whole Arthur thing some thought after our conversation and I think it might be best if I just ignore him this time. This is a small town and I don’t want to put you in an awkward position.”

Merlin had to hold onto the table or he would fall over in shock. “Are you serious? But you were so angry last time we talked and now you’re just willing to forget about your feud. Did something else happen I should know about? Is Arthur lying in a ditch somewhere?”

“Don’t be silly, Merlin,” she admonished him. “I’m sure Arthur is busy grabbing the mic in Avolon at this very moment. I just don’t have the time or energy to waste on him. I’ve got more important things on my mind, I’ve got a bank to run.”

“Well I guess this is the best I can hope for. Should I text you when Arthur leaves so you can perform your classic Britney song?”

Morgana gave him a fond look. “That won’t be necessary, I think I might get to bed early, I have a couple of early meetings tomorrow. Have fun tonight, little brother.” Before she left the room, she called out over her shoulder, “Try not to sing John Farnham again, it’s getting embarrassing.”

Merlin knew he would have to ignore her advice, that was _his_ song after all.

Elena was already sitting around a table with Mithian when Merlin arrived at the pub. She gave him a big smile, Mithian didn’t seem as pleased with his presence but that was very understandable.

“I’m glad you’re here, did Morgana come with you?” Elena asked.

“No, she’s not coming tonight,” Merlin informed her. “She had too much work and she decided she needed an early night. I think I’m going to order first.”

Elena bit her lip in disappointment. “Too bad, I was hoping I would have my first headline tonight. Oh, could you order something for me too? Do you want something too, Mithian?”

“Yes, that would be nice,” Mithian said quietly.

“I’ll be right back,” Merlin said. While he walked over to the counter, he noticed that Arthur wasn’t singing, in fact he wasn’t even here yet. That was weird, considering his previous excitement.

The pub was very busy so Merlin had to wait a while before he got Gwaine’s attention, he nearly had a heart attack when someone suddenly poked him.

He turned around and slapped Arthur’s arm. “You know I scare easily, you’re lucky I didn’t get my drinks yet. I’d be totally soaked right now.”

“My sincerest apologies,” Arthur grinned. “Let me make it up to you, it’s my treat.”

Unlike Merlin, he wasn’t planning on waiting and he loudly called Gwaine over. “Gwaine, your most loyal customer needs you!”

Gwaine rolled his eyes but came over anyway. “How could you possibly be my most loyal customer when you’re almost never here.”

“Because I’m giving everyone a drink,” Arthur said.

Gwaine frowned. “Are you serious? You want to give beer to this entire place?”

“I’m dead serious,” Arthur confirmed. “Come on, get to it.”

“You are so weird,” Gwaine murmured but he rang the bell which meant that soon enough the entire pub was celebrating their free drink.

“Are you trying to run for Mr. Camelot or something?” Merlin asked Arthur. “This is suspiciously generous of you.”

“Always so suspicious, Merlin,” he teased. “I’m doing this out of love for my town.”

“I guess I should tell you that Morgana isn’t coming tonight so you definitely don’t need to impress her.”

“Why on earth would I want to impress her?” Arthur asked, he sounded earnest.

Merlin was starting to believe he really had given up on her. “She just told me that she’s planning on avoiding you so I guess you’re going to be depriving Camelot from its usual entertainment.”

“That is good news,” Arthur responded, his face was unreadable. He took the drinks he paid for and followed Merlin to his table.

“Arthur,” Elena exclaimed, “it’s so nice to see you again. Welcome back to Camelot!”

“That’s very nice of you,” Arthur smiled. “You see, Merlin, this is why I have my doubts about Will, when you’ve already got the lovely Elena.”

Elena blushed furiously, Merlin wondered if her crush was really as nonexistent as she claimed. Not that he was in a position to judge however.

Arthur turned his attention to Mithian and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Arthur Pendragon, are you also a friend of Merlin?”

Mithian shook the hand he offered and said, “I’m a friend of Merlin and Elena.”

Arthur sat down. “Merlin, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve got to set high standards for yourself in every aspect of your life, including your social life. I’m sure Elena and Mithian are going to do great things.”

“Actually, I’m starting my own magazine very soon,” Elena jumped in. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing an interview. You’re one of Camelot’s most interesting residents after all.”

“I’m seriously flattered, Elena, and I will of course grant your request. I’m sure it will be great.”

Elena was officially ecstatic, Merlin and Mithian exchanged a look. “Thanks! I’m sure Merlin will do a great job.”

Merlin blinked, confused. “Um, what? You want me to do the interview?

“Only if you want to, I just thought it would be a great idea to do a profile on Arthur by someone who knows him pretty well.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Arthur said. “Don’t you agree?” he asked Merlin.

Merlin didn’t agree but of course he couldn’t refuse either. Damn, Arthur really was his kryptonite.

“Alright,” he said eventually. “I’ll let you know when I have the time or am I working under a strict deadline here, Elena?”

“It should be finished by next month, that’s when I hope to get things running. Oh, I haven’t even told you that Mordred finally caved in and he’s going to help me set everything up. I did have to exchange you for it.”

Merlin nearly choked on his beer. “Excuse me? What did you do?”

“I told Mordred that you would love to go on a date with him,” she said gently. “And all of the sudden, he was a lot more helpful.” Upon seeing Merlin’s face, she added, “I thought you wanted me to set you up with him. But if you don’t want to go on a date with him, I’ll tell him of course. I don’t want to push you into doing something just to help me out.”

Merlin tried to look more relaxed, he didn’t want to upset Elena. “It’s no problem, honestly, I was just a bit surprised. But I was planning on asking him out anyway, this is actually quite convenient.”

“You were?” Mithian asked, she sounded surprisingly sceptical.

“Of course,” Merlin confirmed firmly. “Mordred is really nice albeit a bit too protective when it comes to his paper.”

“Nice,” Arthur repeated. “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. Mithian, is there anything else you can tell me about this Mordred person?”

Merlin didn’t understand why he chose Mithian as his new source of information. She answered, “He really is nice, quite intelligent and passionate, but much too boring for Merlin.”

“Um, ouch,” Merlin said, “I don’t think he’s boring.”

“Oh, but I don’t think he’s boring at all,” Mithian said, “just not the kind of person you need. I just picture you with someone slightly more charismatic.”

Merlin just stared at her, praying that Arthur wouldn’t connect the dots like Mithian seemingly had. Maybe he was just being paranoid, she could be making a general observation.

Fortunately for him, their conversation was broken up when Will stormed into the pub, singing Take That. After he finished, he quickly grabbed a seat next to Merlin.

Merlin had never loved him more.

“Oi, wasn’t that fucking amazing?”

“I don’t think you know what that word means,” Arthur said. “If that was an X Factor performance, Simon Cowell would be trying to shoot you.”

“I’m sorry grandpa, I didn’t quite catch all of that,” Will retorted. “But if you have something to prove, the stage is free. What are you planning on singing, Cliff Richard?”

Arthur laughed. “Very cheeky, prepare to be destroyed because unlike you, I have many talents. Singing is only one of my least developed ones. I’ll fill you in on the rest later.”

While Arthur was busy acting like a real life Robbie Williams on stage, Merlin tried to capture Mithian’s attention, he just couldn’t let go of her comment. But the situation was hopeless since no one could look away from Arthur.

He decided to take some initiative and asked her if she could help him get some new drinks.

Even Gwaine was dancing along with Arthur’s performance who was already singing his third song of the night so they had to wait quite a while before they got served. Merlin bravely whispered to Mithian, “Did you mean anything by that charismatic comment?”

She hesitated but whispered back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to embarrass you, I just didn’t think you were up for a date with Mordred.” Then she said louder, “Do you want to go outside for a second?”

Merlin nodded and they made their way through the crowd, Arthur was pretty much giving a concert at the moment.

“So I’m guessing you know why I’m not interested in Mordred?” he asked coyly.

“And I’m guessing you know I wouldn’t be interested in Mordred either, even if I wasn’t a lesbian.”

Suddenly, they were both laughing.

“Oh God, I’m so glad you know,” Merlin blurted out.

“And I’m glad that you know that I know. I feel like I’ve been keeping this secret for ages.”

“Trust me, I’ve been keeping my secret a lot longer,” Merlin assured her. “How long have you been crushing on Elena?”

“About two years,” she said, slightly embarrassed.

“My crush has lasted for five years, I am definitely beating you, no competition here.”

“Yes, but that’s only because you’ve known Arthur longer,” she argued, “I fell for Elena the minute I met her.” She sighed. “It’s quite pathetic really.”

“I have a list,” Merlin confessed. “A list of reasons why Arthur is completely wrong for me, I’m still updating it.”

“That’s not a bad idea, less exhausting than having to mentally recite them.”

“Actually, I don’t understand why you’ve never said anything to Elena,” Merlin said. “I mean, she’s bisexual, she’s single and I think she really likes you.”

“I’m sure she likes me, as a friend. Anyway same goes for you, it’s not like you haven’t got a shot with Arthur.”

“I really haven’t,” Merlin snorted. “I seriously do have to show you my list.”

“But he really likes you and he would do anything to please you. Take that interview for example, he immediately agreed.”

“That’s just Arthur,” he shrugged. “He likes helping people and he still thinks of me as a kid that needs help.”

“He does not see you as a kid, I’ve seen him look at you,” she said conspiratorially.

“He doesn’t _look_ ,” Merlin denied. “I think I would know if he did.”

“Just like he knows that you’re majorly crushing on him. Let’s face it, Merlin, we’re not exactly good at communicating our feelings. That’s why I’m relieved I can finally talk to someone about this.”

“Me too,” Merlin concurred. “But I still thinks the odds of you running off into the sunset with Elena are much larger than mine.”

“We’ll see about that,” she murmured. “We should head back inside, Arthur might start missing you.”

In the time it took for them to confess their secrets, Arthur had moved on to singing ‘Angels’.

It was quite sweet, listening to him singing a ballad. Mithian gave him a knowing look and Merlin quickly tried to look less starstruck. It really was benefitting to finally have someone to conspire with.

Later that night, Merlin gave an amazing rendition of ‘You’re the voice’ and afterwards he texted Mordred. They were going on a date in two days. When he saw Arthur flirting with Sophia, he knew for sure that this was a brilliant idea.

Absolutely brilliant.

*

The date wasn’t going very well, it just seemed to drag from one awkward moment to another. It wasn’t that they didn’t have anything in common, it just didn’t take them very long to discuss those topics.

They were in the middle of another awkward silence when Merlin’s phone suddenly went off. He had to control himself not to dive at it.

He apologized himself to Mordred and picked up without looking at the number. He was quite surprised to find out it was Arthur on the other end of the line. He didn’t exactly have a habit of calling him.

“Arthur, everything alright?”

“Just splendid,” he answered candidly. “I was just wondering if you were free to come to my office this afternoon. My father just put me in charge of a new project so I might be occupied the rest of the week. Or you could always come over to the mansion tonight, if you’d prefer?”

“I can’t really come over at the moment, I’m having coffee with Mordred.”

“Oh God, I didn’t realize. How is it going?” Arthur whispered.

“I’m sorry, Arthur, I don’t have an answer for you, but I’ll text you later. Alright?”

“That’s fine,” Arthur conceded. “You can give me a report then,” he added and they both hung up.

“Sorry about that,” Merlin said to Mordred. “I’m supposed to interview Arthur for Elena’s magazine and he was wondering if I was available at the moment.”

“You shouldn’t have refused on my account,” Mordred said. “I mean, I understand how important this interview is for your magazine.”

“It’s not really my magazine, this is Elena’s pet project, she basically dragged me into it.”

“So a bit like this date really.”

Merlin’s eyes widened. “What? I’m not here because Elena forced me to, I wanted to be here.”

Mordred sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have phrased it like that, I just didn’t really get the impression that you’re really interested in me. And I know how nice you are so I thought you were doing Elena a favour by being here.”

“It’s fine,” Merlin allowed. “I have to admit that things aren’t exactly going swimmingly but I really do like you, Mordred. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“At least I gave it a shot,” Mordred shrugged. “I’ve had this embarrassing crush on you for ages.”

Merlin frowned. “You had a crush on me, why?”

“I don’t understand why you look so surprised,” Mordred said, sounding amused. “I thought it was obvious that I liked you.”

“I honestly hadn’t noticed,” Merlin said earnestly.

Mordred smiled. “That is why we wouldn’t work, you’re just too sweet.” He stood up to grab his bag and said, “I’m seeing Elena tomorrow to brainstorm, are you going to join us?”

Merlin wasn’t too sure if he was supposed to be insulted but apparently their date was officially over so he stood up as well. “Yes, she mentioned it to me earlier,” he answered belatedly. “Are you sure that everything’s alright between us? I don’t want us to stop being friends over this.”

“Seriously, it’s alright, it was just a stupid crush, there’s nothing stopping us from being friends,” Mordred said nonchalantly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow,” Merlin said, gobsmacked.

What if he had been worrying all this time about something that didn’t really mean much in the long run? What if he had just confessed everything to Arthur five years ago, he probably would have just laughed it off, turned him down gently (that was just who he was) and Merlin would be happily dating Mordred or some other guy at the moment.

Before he changed his mind, he decided to just go over to Arthur’s office and end this once and for all. After all, what was the worst that could happen, rejection? Merlin could deal with that and he could always count on Mithian to help him get over his embarrassment.

First, Merlin paid the bill and noticed that Mordred had conveniently neglected to pay his half. Hmm, he definitely wouldn’t have been dating Mordred.

*

When he set foot in Arthur’s office, he was starting to get doubts all over again. Just the sheer size of his office was impressive, there was a reason why Elena called Arthur the most important person in Camelot, Pendragon Industries was a huge deal. Of course, Merlin didn’t really have an idea what any of these people actually did, but Arthur paid their cheques and that was an impressive feat.

Actually, that was one of the questions Elena had given him. Uther’s involvement in the company was a bit of a mystery at the moment. Some people feared that they were planning on moving their headquarters to New York where Arthur lived.

He would find out soon enough.

He knocked on Arthur’s door, after checking with his secretary that he really was available. Leon let him inside the office where he was faced with a very cheerful Arthur and immediately all his resolve jumped out of the window. What was he thinking? He could hardly declare his undying love while Arthur was at work.

This was really not the right time or place, he needed to follow Mordred’s example and choose a public setting.

Merlin nearly jumped when Arthur snapped his fingers right in front of his face.

“Earth to Merlin,” he exclaimed. “You do know it’s considered polite to greet people when you enter a room, especially when you’re there to interview them.”

“Sorry, I was a bit distracted,” Merlin apologized. He pointed at a chair and asked, “Is it alright that I sit there? I’ll just get my papers out.”

“Sure. And you’re forgiven if you tell me how your date went. Considering your attitude, it must have been quite mind-blowing.”

“Oh, it really wasn’t,” Merlin said. “We found out very quickly that we’re not very compatible.”

Arthur nodded agreeably. “That’s exactly what I suspected.”

Merlin gave him a shifty look. “You’ve never even met Mordred, why are you drawing all these conclusion out of thin air?”

“I’m just very good at reading at people,” Arthur boasted.

Clearly, he wasn't or Merlin wouldn’t be sitting here in agony.

“I can just tell when two people are into each other,” Arthur continued, “you wouldn’t believe how many people I set up in New York. That’s why I’m convinced I can find your perfect boyfriend.”

“That’s very friendly of you, Arthur, but could we perhaps do this interview first? I’m working on a deadline here.”

“So am I,” he said, “I’m not staying here forever.”

Merlin was both relieved and disappointed to hear that news. “Actually, that already answers one of my questions. Some people in this town believe that you’re here to move headquarters and that Uther is planning on retiring entirely.”

Arthur grimaced. “Pfft, my father isn’t planning on retiring. But, off the record, his role is going to be more reduced since Vivian is insisting that they start travelling more. I’m just here to test the waters, make sure the management is up to it.”

“Alright, I won’t put that in the article, I promise. So how long are you planning on staying? People still haven’t given on that epic confrontation with Morgana.”

Arthur got up to pour himself some water, Merlin declined his offer to drink something. “At first, I thought two months or something but it could be longer. I need to make sure that everything can run smoothly here in my father’s absence and mine. Not that I don’t have faith in my staff. Of course, there are other reasons why my stay could be extended.”

Merlin’s heart started beating a little faster, he really hoped Arthur wasn’t about to mention Sophia.

“I really like living in New York, it’s an amazing city really. You should definitely go there someday, I’ll give you a personal tour. And I have some awesome friends over there, but it’s not the same as Camelot. This is my home, I’ve got so many connections here. It’s not like there is an American version of Merlin running around there.”

“That’s so typical of you,” Merlin observed. “You’re such a people person.”

Arthur shook his head. “What can I say, people seem to love me. Don’t you love me Merlin?” he teased.

“Not if we don’t finish this interview,” Merlin quickly responded, trying to stay cool.

They spent the next thirty minutes going over Elena’s quite detailed questions, Merlin had no idea why she wasn’t doing this interview herself. He had only added three or four questions himself so he was basically her mouthpiece. Normally, Elena loved to talking to people, Merlin wanted to find out the real reason he was sitting here at the moment.

The interview finally wrapped up and Merlin expressed his gratitude.

“No problem,” Arthur assured him. “Does Elena already have a name for her magazine, because otherwise she should have a talk with my marketing consultant. Those people have been telling me for years how important it is to have a good name for your product.”

“I don’t think she has,” Merlin said, “but I’m sure she’ll come up with something, she’s quite creative. Unlike me.”

“Really? I thought you were acting like a real journalist earlier, although a lot friendlier.”

“Thanks, but it’s not really my calling.”

“You should come to my dad’s house tonight,” Arthur suggested out of the blue.

Shit. “I don’t think I can make it tonight, I’ve got other work to do.”

“Oh come on, Vivian has been asking me to bring that nice boy over again. You can’t let her down, can you?”

Merlin was confronted with puppy eyes and his personal kryptonite, there was no way in hell he was going to say no.

“Is tomorrow alright? I’ll try to be there at seven.”

“Perfect,” Arthur said. “I’ll see you then, Vivian will be ecstatic she has someone to cook for.”

Merlin answered his smile and hoped it didn’t look as forced as it felt. He could hardly confess his undying his love in front of Arthur’s father and step-mother. He really had no choice but to put it off.

*

Later that day when he was back at school, Merlin was relieved when he ran into Mithian. “I really need to talk to you,” he said.

“Oh dear, have there been developments?” she asked gravely.

“Indeed, not that _he_ knows anything but I think I want him to know.”

“We should sit down for this,” she said immediately.

They quickly sat down at an available bench. “Alright, so where is this coming from?” she asked.

“Ok, so I was on a date with Mordred which was exactly the catastrophe you predicted and then he just said, very casually, that he has a big crush on me. And then he added that it wasn’t a big deal at all and shouldn’t stand in the way of our friendship.”

Mithian considered her answer. “That’s really mature of Mordred but I don’t see how this affects your situation. You can’t compare Mordred to us. His crush was barely there, maybe a few weeks old, that’s nothing.”

“It’s just that I think that’s what I should have done with Arthur. I think part of me wants him to laugh it off so I can go back to normal.”

She sighed. “You do have a point, it’s not easy carrying this burden all the time and since we’re both convinced of our future rejection, we might as well get it out.”

Merlin was very relieved she agreed with his point. “Exactly, I think that’s the thing with pining, it’s that little sliver of hope that maybe you’ll end up living happily ever after all. We need to squash that hope if we want to move on. So what if Elena and Arthur aren’t interested in us? I mean, don’t you want a girlfriend?”

“I do,” she said longingly, “it would be lovely to hold hands with someone, go see a movie together, have mind-blowing sex afterwards.”

“My point exactly,” Merlin said. ”This little humiliation we’re going to suffer pales in comparison to the many benefits.”

“Do you want to make a pact? We swear to confess to Arthur and Elena and if we don’t then ...”

“We have to walk naked in the town square,” Merlin filled in.

Mithian giggled. “No thanks. Wait, if we don’t, then the other person tells. So if I don’t have the guts to tell Elena, you tell her. And the other way around of course.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea, maybe we should set a deadline as well, they seem to be very helpful. What do you think about a week?”

“I think we have a pact,” she said and they both nodded.

Merlin was convinced that this was the solution to all his problems and went home feeling a lot better about himself.

*

After he finished his work, Merlin thought he deserved a reward and went down to the kitchen to grab a snack. Oddly, Morgana was already in the kitchen, like she was waiting for him.

“I thought you were staying at Gwaine’s place tonight?” he asked.

“Oh no, the pub is filled with tourists at the moment so he can’t get away at the moment,” she explained. “So I decided to clean up a little.”

Merlin didn’t like the mischievous glint in her eyes one bit. “Alright, let’s get this over with it, what did you find?”

“A very interesting list,” she grinned.

Shit, shit, shit.

“One of our old shopping lists?” Merlin suggested quite desperately.

“Oh, please, you know exactly what I’m talking about,” she said triumphantly and pulled out _the list._ “I have to admit I was planning on giving you so much shit for this, but then I remembered Agravaine. He was my English teacher and I had such a humongous crush on him. I guess it’s just a phase all fourteen-year-olds go through. Having a crush on someone older who seems all mysterious. So I’m going to be merciful about this transgression.”

Merlin felt this was one of those moments in life where he really needed a victory dance.

“I’m just relieved you didn’t find the similar list I wrote about Lancelot,” he joked.

She laughed and said, “I’ll just throw this away.” She crumbled the list Merlin had kept for years and asked, “What do you want for dinner?”

“Whatever you want,” he answered absently. Maybe the fact that his list just got destroyed was yet another sign that it was time to move on.

*

Neither Merlin, Morgana or Gaius were very good cooks, so from a culinary standpoint, Merlin was looking forward to having dinner at the Pendragon mansion. He just didn’t want to see Arthur at the moment. Especially since this was day two of his challenge and there was no way he was going to make any progress tonight. Not that Mithian was making much progress either, in fact she had decided to ignore Elena completely until day seven.

A tactic Merlin was starting to admire at the moment.

“Merlin, you’re here,” Vivian greeted him enthusiastically. “Come in, Uther and Arthur are already in the kitchen. I’m still busy with some final touches.”

“Oh, you don’t need to make an effort for me,” he said.

She pulled a doubtful face. “Why shouldn’t have to make an effort for you, you’re one of Arthur’s best friends. He can’t stop mentioning you.”

Merlin grimaced. “That’s nice.”

The Pendragon kitchen was a lot bigger than the one in Gaius’ house. Vivian told Merlin to sit down next to Arthur who seemed completely absorbed by his laptop.

After a couple of minutes he shut it down and turned his attention to Merlin. “Ah, you’re here, that’s good news cause I’m starving.”

Uther seemed to wake up as well and said, “It’s nice to see you again, Merlin.”

“Thank you, sir,” Merlin replied to Uther. He still got a bit nervous when Uther Pendragon talked to him.

Just like Merlin predicted, dinner was lovely and Arthur did most of the talking. He seemed to be in the mood for some New York stories. Even Uther was occasionally smiling after one of his anecdotes.

“Enough about me,” Arthur said eventually. “Merlin, anything you have to share with us?”

“Nothing comes to mind,” he said shyly, unlike Arthur he didn’t particularly enjoy the spotlight. “My studies are going well, my family is doing ok, nothing special really.”

“Is Gaius back from his travels?” Uther questioned him.

“Oh, yes, he came back a few days ago, but I don’t think he’s planning on sticking around for that long.”

“Yes, it seems that for some people Camelot isn’t worth sticking around for,” Uther said.

“Maybe if they had something worth sticking around for, they would,” Vivian chimed in.

Arthur glared at both of them, Merlin felt like there was a silent conversation going on here, one he clearly wasn’t a part of.

Arthur turned to Merlin and said, “What my parents are not so subtly implying here, Merlin, is that they are hoping that I fall madly in love with some local girl or boy and stay in Camelot to run headquarters.”

Vivian looked irritated. “Arthur, this isn’t about the company, we just want you to be happy. Preferably in Camelot.”

“Listen,” Arthur started saying, “I truly love this place. Seriously, read my interview with Merlin. But staying here just isn’t possible or have you forgotten the Morgana factor?”

“I love my sister but you can’t let her drive you out of town,” Merlin spoke up. “She’s not that scary.”

“She is,” Arthur said disbelievingly. “But it doesn’t matter, I just don’t fit in here anymore.”

“Of course you fit in here,” Merlin said determinedly, he was surprised by how determined he sounded and it seemed the rest of the table was too.

“Merlin, could I speak to you in private for a second?” Arthur requested.

Merlin didn’t really understand why but followed him anyway.

Arthur walked with him to the living room. “I need to tell you something,” he said, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “I didn’t want to bring it up around my dad, but I did talk to Morgana today. It didn’t go very well, there was a lot of shouting.”

Merlin was confused. “But she swore to me that she would avoid you.”

“Yes, but it can be a tad hard to avoid someone when they come to your house,” Arthur explained. “I know, it was completely stupid. I went to see Gwen and Lance and they told me they were expecting a baby. We talked for hours and it was just like it used to be, you know before all this stupid shit started. We used to be such good friends: Gwen, Lance, Morgana, Gwaine and me. Until I fucked everything up.”

“That was years ago,” Merlin comforted him. “No one cares about that anymore, except for Morgana.”

“Trust me, I know exactly how ridiculous it sounds. It’s just that when I’m not here, I feel like a proper adult but everyone here seems to think I haven’t grown up at all.”

“I know exactly how that feels,” Merlin snorted. “No one seems to have noticed that I’m all grown up now.”

“I’ve noticed,” Arthur said.

He was looking straight into Merlin’s eyes, Merlin tried to subtly look away but somehow didn’t manage to.

“I know I might be a bit overprotective, especially with that whole Mordred mess, but you’re special to me, Merlin. In fact, you might be the best friend I have in this town. I hope you’re not insulted hearing an old fart like me saying that.”

Merlin wanted to kick his face for lighting the flame of the torch he still carried for him. “You’re one of the best friends I have,” he said instead. “It’s not that I don’t love Morgana, Gwaine, Lance or Gwen, but they don’t really see me as their friend, more like a little brother. You’re not much different from Will.”

“Frankly, I find that a little insulting, I’m a much better friend than Will. Although I guess he does have the loyalty factor, I can’t beat that.”

“Arthur, can we postpone the friendship Olympics for now, I’m rather hungry.”

“Alright,” he grinned, “but I swear if you make a list, you’ll see I come out on top.”

All Merlin could do was sigh, it had become clear that the universe didn’t merely hate him, but despised him more than Morgana could ever despise Arthur.

*

Merlin spent day three of his challenge with Will in Gwaine’s pub, getting spectacularly drunk.

Day four, he was with Elena all day, working on her magazine. She was starting to worry about the fact that she still didn’t have a decent name. But everything else seemed to be working out, she found enough volunteers and with Mordred’s help, they were planning on releasing their first issue next month.

She also complained to Merlin that it seemed like Mithian was ignoring her and she didn’t sound very pleased about it either. Merlin had to suppress a little grin when he heard that, he was right, there was more hope for Mithian. Maybe this was just a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder. Anyhow, Merlin was rooting for Mithian.

Merlin didn’t do anything special on day five either, except for trying to convince himself not to write a new list. Then Arthur called him so they spent the whole evening together watching television, talking. It was a great night and a great opportunity to declare his love, which of course he didn’t.

The next day, he received a call from Mithian asking him how he was planning on breaking the news to Elena.

“So have you officially given up?” Merlin asked.

“I think I have, honestly I don’t think I ever believed that I was going to tell her,” she confessed.

“But we discussed this, think about the benefits,” he reminded her. “And I think you should know that Elena’s been worried sick about you. She misses you and it’s only been a few days.”

“We’re friends, that’s normal,” she said dismissively. “Tell me, have you seen Arthur lately?”

“Actually, we hung out last night,” Merlin informed her, “as good friends do.”

“You could have told him,” she pointed out. “Admit it, you’re not planning on telling him either which means I’ll be forced to have a very embarrassing talk with Arthur Pendragon, you’re getting off lightly.”

“Nothing about this is easy,” Merlin countered. “You do realize that we’re going to have to tell them tomorrow. How do you want me to say it? I could just say to Elena that I’ve got a hunch that you like her or something.”

“Not good enough,” Mithian said resolutely. “You have to tell her that I’m in love with her, we have do this right so our pining can finally come to an end. It really needs to end, Merlin.”

An idea popped in Merlin’s head. “Write it down, write down what you want to say Elena and that’s what I’ll tell her. We can email it to each other by tomorrow.”

“That’s actually a brilliant idea,” she said. “Alright, let’s do this, I’ll try to send you something tonight.”

“Me too,” Merlin pledged.

After he hung up on Mithian, it occurred to Merlin that this really was a good idea, he had always been a lot better at writing down his feelings than actually expressing them to people. He once wrote this incredibly mushy love letter to Valiant, his first boyfriend.

He sat down at his desk and started typing. Then he started deleting everything he wrote. This pattern repeated itself several times until Merlin realized writing down his feelings wasn’t that easy.

But what was he supposed to write? ‘ _Dear, Arthur, I love you very much. Cheers, Merlin.’_

Just when he wanted to start writing something, someone knocked on his door. “You can come in, Morgana, I’m decent,” he called out.

“I’m very relieved to hear that you’re still a decent boy,” Gwaine said.

Merlin’s cheeks pinked up. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. Um, Morgana isn’t here if you’re looking for her.”

“Oh, I’m not here to see to Morgana. I actually wanted to have a talk with you about your sister. As you know, your sister and I have been seeing each other for quite a while now.”

Merlin frowned. “Trust me, Gwaine, I know exactly how long you’ve been seeing each other. There’s a reason that I usually flee the house when you’re here.”

“So you’re aware that we’ve been _together_ for a while now and I’d like to take things to the next level.”

“You want to propose!” Merlin exclaimed.

“No, of course not,” Gwaine denied. “I’d like to move in with Morgana, actually I want her to move in with me.”

“Oh so you want her to leave our house,” Merlin concluded. That was quite unexpected.

“I haven’t even talked with her about this. I guess I’m a bit scared she’s going to say no. I know how close the two of you are, you’ve always looked after each other.”

“Gaius’ orphans is what they used to call us at school,” Merlin reminisced. “Gwaine, you really don’t need my permission but if you’re asking if I think she’s going to agree... I honestly don’t know, my sister can be quite unpredictable. But I know she cares about you a lot. This is the longest relationship I’ve ever seen her in. So I think you should go for it. And I really hope you’re not worried about me or anything, I’m 21, I think I can take care of myself by now.”

Gwaine smiled. “I keep forgetting how old you are. But I have to thank you for giving me hope again. To be honest, I’ve been a coward about this. Which is quite silly, what’s the worst that could happen, that she could say no?”

“Don’t you think it’s horrible when someone rejects you?” Merlin asked curiously.

“Well, I’m not saying it’s much fun, but sometimes you need to fall flat on your face, that’s life.”

Merlin nodded, quietly thinking that Gwaine was absolutely right.

When he was alone in his room again, he wrote his letter to Arthur. But he wasn’t planning on giving it to Mithian. No, he was doing this himself.

*

Merlin was planning on visiting the Pendragon Mansion to talk to Arthur but it turned out that he didn’t need to walk that far since he ran into Arthur in the town square.

“Merlin, this is a coincidence, I was just about to call you. I need to discuss something with you.”

“Actually, I was just walking to your house since I need to discuss something with you too.”

“Do you mind if I go first since I suspect what I’ve got to say is a bit more embarrassing,” Arthur proposed.

“Alright,” Merlin agreed readily.

“Right, here I go. I really hope you don’t start hating me after hearing this and I’d like to mention that I know this sounds crazy. But ever since you had dinner at my parent’s house, I can’t stop thinking about saying this. I like you, Merlin.”

Merlin was still waiting for the big revelation. “I like you too, but I don’t really understand why this is so embarrassing.”

“Merlin, what I’m saying is that I’m in love with you,” Arthur clarified.

The way Merlin gaped would have made any decent cartoon character proud. He started giggling uncontrollably.

“Ok, I understand why this might sound a bit ridiculous but laughter wasn’t exactly the reaction I was going for,” Arthur said.

“I’m so sorry, it’s just that I was coming over to your house to tell you the same thing,” Merlin confessed. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Arthur, I just never had the courage to tell you.”

Arthur’s face brightened. “You’re in love with me? I guess I was so busy covering up my own feelings that I didn’t have time to notice yours. The truth is that I fell you for you when I saw you in that coffee shop. I don’t know why, I guess it just hit me then, but at first I tried to push it away since I couldn’t stop thinking about all the obstacles we’d have to face. The age difference, Morgana...”

Merlin interrupted him, “Screw the obstacles. I want to be with you and apparently you want to be with me, which is pretty amazing. And I’d really like to kiss you, is that alright?”

Arthur stepped closer to him. “I have no issues with that,” he said and then pressed his lips against Merlin’s.

Now, Merlin was not the type to believe in clichés like ‘fireworks went off’, ‘his entire world changed’, cause this was definitely not his first kiss, but it felt like it should have been. It was the first kiss that really mattered him.

Arthur pressed Merlin closer to him by grabbing his waist, he really could do some wicked things with his tongue, maybe they’d better take this somewhere less public.

“What the fuck are you doing with my little brother!” Morgana shouted.

Merlin and Arthur finally broke off their kiss and exchanged an alarmed look.

She looked very outraged, Merlin could only hope that they were both going to survive this.

“Seriously, Arthur, what the hell do you think you’re doing! Do you really need to screw this entire town, toying with Gwen and Lance wasn’t enough for you? Well, I’m not going to let you hurt my brother!”

“Merlin is twenty-one, he’s old enough to make his own decisions,” Arthur retaliated. “This is none of your fucking business, Morgana. I love Merlin and I’m not planning on hurting him, this may come as a surprise to you but I’m not the same person I was five years ago. But apparently you are.”

Merlin thought it was time to separate them so he jumped in front of Morgana. “Arthur is right, this is my decision. I don’t recall you asking for my permission when you started dating Gwaine. But this doesn’t mean that I don’t love you so please don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” she spitted out. “I’m just very disappointed in you. Oh, and that stupid list wasn’t written by 14-year-old, was it? I just can’t believe you’ve fallen for this bastard.”

Her tirade was interrupted by someone saying, “I think that’s enough for now.”

The town square seemed to be a popular destination today, Gaius had joined them.

“I apologize Arthur, but I think it’s best if my children go home at the moment. I don’t think private matters should be discussed here.”

Arthur didn’t protest and said to Merlin, “Call me later, alright?” Even with Morgana’s fury, he couldn’t resist giving him a quick kiss.

Merlin didn’t want to let him go but Gaius was right, this wasn’t the place to argue. “I’ll call you as soon as I can,” he whispered.

Then they followed Gaius home, both fuming the entire way.

*

Inside their living room, Gaius said, “First of all, you two are both adults which means that you can make up your own mind about who you want to date, I do not interfere in matters of the heart. So I’m not going to lecture you about Arthur and Gwaine, although you should know that I consider them both to be very nice, young men. But you are family and nothing should come between that.”

“I’m sorry, Gaius, but you can’t expect me to have no problems with the fact that Merlin is dating my arch enemy.”

“You can’t keep using his past against him,” Merlin argued. “Gwen and Lance have forgiven him a long time ago. Are you sure you’re not just projecting your issues with Uther on Arthur?”

Morgana sighed, she seemed to have calmed down considerably. “This isn’t about Uther, I wish people would just believe me when I say that I don’t care about him. My mother abandoned me when I was a baby, it doesn’t really matter who knocked her up in the first place. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Well, I can’t exactly guarantee that, but it’s not like you can guarantee me that Gwaine won’t ever hurt you either. It’s not like his reputation is that amazing.”

“You have a point,” she conceded. “I admit I have been rather overprotective and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But I can try to be alright with this.”

“That will have to do for now,” Merlin said, trying to hide his disappointment. Part of him had hoped that Morgana would change her mind after hearing him out.

Gaius spoke again, “I’m glad to hear that we can have peace again. Merlin, I think you’d better go see Arthur, the poor guy is probably very impatient at the moment.”

“Thank you, Gaius,” Merlin smiled, but his previous euphoria had disappeared momentarily. “I’ll see you later,” he said to Morgana.

“Yes, see you later,” she said, her smile was still pretty strained.

Merlin made his way over to the Pendragon mansion, he really needed to see Arthur right now.

*

He had barely touched the doorbell when Arthur opened the front door. “I’m so glad you’re here, I was afraid Morgana would lock you up in the basement or something.”

“She might have, if it wasn’t for Gaius. But she’s ok with us, for now.”

Arthur shrugged. “That’s good to hear, I guess, but I’m more interested in what you’re thinking at the moment.”

“I was just wondering if this means that I’ve got a boyfriend now.”

“I quite like that title, I would love to be your boyfriend, Merlin Emrys,” Arthur grinned, looking quite ecstatic.

“Me too, but first I would like to confess that I don’t know if I’m up for this whole long distance thing. Even if I know how important New York is for you.”

Arthur cut him off. “I’m not planning on going back, I already told you that Camelot is my real home, I love this town and nearly all its residents. Vivian was right, I think I just needed something to come back for. Plus, I think I’m ready to lead the company, that’s what my dad wants.”

“So you’re staying in Camelot?” Merlin asked, just to make sure he understood him right.

“I’m staying with you,” Arthur clarified, he leaned in for another kiss.

Merlin was pleased to discover that a second kiss with Arthur was just as amazing as the first one. He had a feeling it would never stop being amazing.

“Are your parents here?” he asked him, when Arthur was busy giving him a love bite.

“I’m here alone,” Arthur grunted. “But maybe I should show you my room anyway.”

“That’s a good idea,” Merlin concurred.

They went up the stairs in record time, Merlin didn’t have much time to check out Arthur’s room before Arthur pushed him in his bed.

“I can’t believe this is actually happing,” Merlin muttered.

Arthur smiled. “I truly hope I can live up to your wank fantasies. Tell me, what did you dream about, sweetheart?”

Merlin swallowed. “Um, I guess you’d be wearing a lot less clothes at this point.”

“Hmm, I’ll try to accommodate,” Arthur said and he started taking off his shirt and trousers. After he took off his boxers, he asked, “What do you think, do I live up to your fantasy?”

The only answer Merlin could give him was a slow nod.

“I can’t imagine you were wearing all those clothes when naked Arthur was parading around or else your version of me is very stupid. Take off your clothes, Merlin,” he ordered.

Merlin did what he was told, but since he wasn’t as secure as naked Arthur, he did it a lot slower.

“Stop teasing,” Arthur warned him, “and take off these boxers.”

Five seconds later, Merlin was completely naked and Arthur was grinning. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll take care of you.” He climbed on top of Merlin and kissed him again. And yeah, kissing Arthur was the best thing ever. That was Merlin’s opinion until Arthur’s mouth started going downwards.

Later, after Arthur used his wonderful fingers and was pushing inside him, very, very slowly, he decided that every moment with Arthur was going to be amazing.

*

Merlin woke up the next morning when his phone went off. He was too tired to open his eyes but stretched his arm to pick it up anyway. When he glanced at the name, he started waking up very quickly.

The text came from Mithian and it said: ‘We decided to skip the movie. Apparently happy endings do happen in real life.’

Merlin smiled cheekily and texted her back: ‘Congratulations, I just woke up with my own prince charming.’

His prince charming decided to wake up as well. “Up already?” Arthur asked sleepily.

“I just got a text from Mithian, she’s dating Elena now,” Merlin explained.

“That is good news,” Arthur said. “By the way, now that we’re both up, what would you say if we were to repeat last night’s actions?”

“All of last night’s actions?” Merlin asked doubtfully.

“Are you that sore?”

“You’re such a prat, Arthur,” Merlin exclaimed.

Out of nowhere, Arthur tackled him. “But I’m your prat, right?”

“Totally,” Merlin answered. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Arthur grinned. “Let me prove how much.”

*

**Six months later**

“I still can’t believe I’m helping you carry this table, is this filled with gold of something, cause that’s the heaviest shit I’ve ever carried.”

“Maybe it’d help if you’d stop talking for two seconds,” Merlin grunted. “Alright, we can put it down here.”

They were both very relieved when the heaviest table in existence finally reached its destination.

Will scowled. “Ok, from now on Arthur can carry his own stuff. I’m only carrying yours from now on.”

“That’s going to be a quick job, considering Merlin practically has no stuff,” Morgana chimed in.

“I have stuff,” Merlin said defensively. “Besides, most of this stuff is only here temporarily, until Arthur and I can afford to buy our own furniture.”

He received two very sceptical looks. “Alright, until I can afford it. But can I point out that this closet belongs to Gaius so technically its mine.”

“That closet is definitely my favourite part of our interior,” Arthur said when he walked into the living room. “By the way, good job, William, where have you been hiding these muscles?”

Before Will had a chance to give him a nasty reply, the rest of the moving crew walked in. Gwaine, Mithian, Elena and Freya looked pretty much exhausted.

“I hope you’re not considering ever moving again,” Gwaine said warningly, “because I’m seriously not helping.”

“I think you people need the visit gym more often,” Arthur quipped, but he quickly backtracked when he saw the whole room turn against him.

“Maybe I have something to make this all a bit more bearable.” He grabbed two bottles of champagne. “Thanks Morgana, for bringing in the glasses.”

“You’re welcome, Arthur,” she replied politely.

That was their default mode for now, they were quite nice to each other, there wouldn’t be an epic Morgana-Arthur confrontation in the near future, yet they still weren’t friends. But Merlin had high hopes for the future.

Once everyone had their glass, Arthur started making a toast. “I just want to say thanks to everyone, for helping us with this move. Except Gwen and Lance, but they have a cute baby so that’s a proper excuse, I believe.”

“And everyone can thank me for actually bothering to hire a moving company,” Gwaine called out.

“Thank you, Gwaine!” everyone shouted, including Arthur.

While everyone was busy chatting, Arthur whispered to Merlin, “I can’t wait to find out how hard that table really is.”

“Me neither,” Merlin whispered back.

“Tell me, Merlin,” Arthur said, “and be honest, how long was your list was this time?”

“You mean the list titled ‘Should I move in with Arthur?’ That list wasn’t very long at all,” Merlin said. “It’s quite hard to write an extensive list when you can’t see a downside.”

 

THE END


End file.
